Godless Domain

I stood there, frozen, trying to make sense of Evelyn's wild claim. A screen? What screen? What nonsense is this. My mind scrambled for an explanation, but nothing seemed to fit. Could she have really lost her mind? Or was there something else happening that I just couldn't see?

Evelyn's eyes remained glued to the empty space in front of her, her fingers trembling as she pointed at the air. Her voice was steady but tinged with confusion.

"There's this screen, Kade. Right here," she said, still staring at nothing. "It says… 'True Healer.' I don't know what it means. It just appeared out of nowhere. And then there's this… explanation beneath it. It says that a healer can... well, it says they can cure ailments, heal injuries, and—"

I cut her off before she could go on, my brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait, what? You can see this screen? Like, right in front of you?"

She nodded, her fingers still hovering as though interacting with the invisible display. "Yes, it's right there. Can't you see it, Kade?" Her tone was uncertain now, her gaze flickering between the screen and me.

I shook my head slowly. "No. I can't see anything." I was caught between disbelief and the nagging suspicion that she wasn't lying. There was something in her eyes, something that made me think she truly believed what she was saying.

She seemed almost to deflate in frustration, her shoulders slumping. "I don't get it. Why can't you see it? Why would I make this up, Kade?"

I exhaled slowly. "I don't know, but we've got bigger problems than... whatever that is. We need to focus on Zane."

The moment I said his name, my gaze snapped to the bed. Zane had shifted. His shallow breaths were no longer erratic, and his once pale face had regained a faint flush. His eyes were now open and focused, although he was staring into space his expression distant, almost thoughtful.

I walked over to him, leaning closer, my voice soft. "Zane?" I whispered, hesitant to disturb whatever he was going through. "You alright?"

He didn't answer right away. His gaze remained fixed, as if reading something invisible in front of him. For a few moments, I stood there, watching him, unsure whether I should speak again or just wait.

Finally, Zane turned his head slightly, meeting my eyes with a flicker of recognition. There was a strange calmness to him now, but also a kind of distant confusion.

"I thought I lost my mind for a second," he said, his voice dry, though he managed a small smile. "I'm fine, though."

I couldn't help but chuckle nervously. "I don't know, man. You're staring at nothing and not saying much. I think I might've lost my mind a little too."

Zane's smile faded, replaced by a more serious expression. He shifted his weight slightly, propping himself up on his elbows as his brow furrowed.

"I'm serious, Kade," he said, his voice quieter now. "I really think I've lost it. I'm seeing things. I can't explain it."

I frowned, stepping closer. "What do you mean, 'seeing things'?"

Zane let out a heavy breath, rubbing his eyes like he was trying to shake off the haze that still lingered in his mind. "There's a screen in front of me," he said, his voice slow, almost as if he were piecing the words together carefully. "It says… 'Bloodthirsty Berserker.'" He paused, brows knitted in confusion. "What the hell does that even mean?"

My confusion deepened. "Bloodthirsty Berserker? That doesn't sound like anything I've ever heard of..."

Zane's eyes shifted, staring ahead as though he were still looking at the invisible screen. "I don't know," he muttered, almost to himself. "It's like… it's like I'm in some kind of game or something. Like... like there are levels and abilities… things I'm supposed to do."

I blinked, trying to process what he was saying. Was he... serious? It sounded insane, like something straight out of a video game. But the more I thought about it, the more it started to make sense, in a strange, twisted way.

Zane turned to look at me, his expression more focused now, almost like he was coming to some sort of conclusion.

"Kade, I think something happened to us," he said slowly. "We must've been kidnapped in our sleep. Maybe aliens worked on our brains."

For a second, I thought that it might've been better for me to just knock him back out. But when I started to think about it… that didn't seem so ridiculous anymore, considering everything we'd seen today.

The way he was describing what he saw felt similar to what Evelyn was experiencing. Either the mother and son pair had lost their minds, or they were telling the truth. It was as if some kind of power had been unlocked within them, something beyond their control.

I stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out if this was real or if we were both losing it. But Zane... he didn't look like he was joking. There was something in his eyes, something that told me he wasn't making this up.

The air between us grew heavy, thick with uncertainty. It was as if we were standing on the edge of something vast and unknown, a precipice that we didn't have the luxury of ignoring anymore.

"Well, whatever this is," I said finally, my voice steady but with a hint of resolve, "we need to figure it out. Together."

Zane's faint smile returned, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Yeah. Together." He looked back at the space in front of him, his expression thoughtful again, as if contemplating something deeper than I could understand.

I turned back to Evelyn, who was still staring at the empty space where she claimed to see the screen. The tension in the room was palpable, but somehow, in that moment, I felt more certain of one thing: Whatever this was, we were all in it together.